By age 30, between 68 and 75 percent of young men in the United States, with only a high school degree or less, are fathers. This volume provides practical, policy-driven strategies to address the national epidemic of disadvantaged young fathers and the challenges they face in raising and supporting their children. National experts discuss the issues of immediate concern to those working to reconnect disengaged dads to their children and improve child and family economic and emotional well-being. Each chapter was presented at a working conference organized by Institute for Research on Poverty director, Tim Smeeding (University of Wisconsin–Madison), in coordination with the Columbia University School of Social Work’s Center for Research on Fathers, Children, and Family Well-Being, directed by Ronald Mincy, and the Columbia Population Research Center, directed by Irwin Garfinkel. The conference brought together scholars, many in public policy, to examine strategies for reducing barriers to marriage and fathers’ involvement, designing child support and other public policies to encourage the involvement of fathers, and addressing fathers who have multiple child support responsibilities. This volume will appeal to researchers, policy-makers, and practitioners dedicated to improving the lives of low-income families and children.
This volume of the ANNALS considers conceptual, legal, and practical issues related to the realization of children as citizens. The treatment of children is of vital interest to all who seek stronger democracy, especially in aging societies that will necessarily become increasingly dependent on the young. At what age should children be allowed to vote? How are demographic changes taking place in American society relevant to advancing the rights platform for children? What lessons are there to learn from societies that have secured a legal framework for children’s rights, such as in Brazil? How are democracy and citizenship strengthened by extending citizenship to children? Using the CRC as a starting point on the path of achieving functional citizenship for children, the distinguished contributors provide examples of empirical research on children’s participation in social and political matters and offer recommendations for conceiving child citizenship in a multigenerational context in which the voice, opinions, and energies of children are included and integrated into society at large.